Algeria > Again No Luggage

Hamoed, the driver, arrives with the car at exactly twelve o’clock in front of the guesthouse. The luggage is loaded into the Toyota for the last time. We drive through the darkness to the airport in about half an hour. The airport lies thirty kilometres outside Djanet. The road is quiet. In the departure hall it is a different story. Many travellers are already waiting for two flights departing for Algiers tonight. The check-in counter for our flight has just opened—the only counter. Staff from tour operators walk around the queue and try to pick up boarding passes for their guests. They actually succeed, which only makes things more difficult for the employee. Just when it is our turn, the computer system crashes. The staff member looks rather helplessly at the screen. Everything is restarted. After a few minutes it works again and the boarding passes can be printed. Check-in continues. We are well on time; the flight does not leave for another three hours. In the hall we use our last dinars to buy something to drink. We will not manage to spend all our money. An officer comes to collect the passports. It is not entirely clear why. Ten minutes later we receive the passports back, stamped boarding passes included. When entering the departure area, this little stamp is checked. The plane lands on time from Tamanrasset, which means boarding can begin quickly. When I enter the aircraft, I already see dozens of people seated. They are flying straight through from Tamanrasset to Algiers. When everyone is on board, we depart—about twenty minutes ahead of schedule. In the dark we fly over the desert heading north. Shortly after six in the morning we arrive in Algiers. The time gained is immediately lost again: there are no buses available yet to transport us. We have to wait twenty minutes in the aircraft. In the arrivals hall the baggage appears quickly on the belt. Most travellers seem to be flying without checked luggage. At the exit we do not see our driver. When we contact the agent, it turns out he is still outside the airport grounds—cheaper than parking inside. In half an hour we reach the Beaux Arts Hotel in central Algiers. This place is beginning to feel familiar. Now, however, we are only here for a few hours. I quickly grab some breakfast, take a shower, and sleep a bit.

Algeria - The rainbow appears above Algiers

At eleven o’clock, three and a half hours later, we are driven back for the flight to Paris. Check-in, customs, and security go smoothly, though my passport and boarding pass are checked more often than I feel is necessary. At the gate we wait for the plane to arrive. Time passes, but no aircraft appears. If the plane has not yet arrived from Paris, we are certainly not leaving. Suddenly my KLM app shows that the flight is delayed by about two and a half hours. What now? This means we will miss the connection in Paris. At the counter they confirm the delay. They also confirm that we will not make the flight to the Netherlands. They can rebook us to a later flight departing at 20:45, apparently the last flight of the day. Fortunately, seats are still available. This does mean we must wait even longer. The app mentions vouchers, but they do not seem to work. We buy a sandwich and something to drink ourselves. A little later, a staff member tells us we can follow her to get something to eat as compensation. I am no longer hungry. When we return to the gate, the Air France plane has arrived—an encouraging sign. The scheduled departure time of 16:25 is exceeded. Eventually, around five o’clock, we take off for Paris. We probably have enough time in Paris to make the new connecting flight. While crossing the Mediterranean, darkness falls. We continue towards Paris. At a quarter past seven we land at Charles de Gaulle Airport. I am seated almost at the back, and it feels like it takes ages before everyone has their luggage and leaves the plane. For the flight to Amsterdam I need to go from terminal 2E to 2F. This requires going through hand luggage security and passport control. Queues everywhere, and everything moves painfully slowly. When I arrive at gate F49, boarding has just begun. Amusingly, this means I am practically at the front. I board immediately after the business-class passengers. We fly to Amsterdam in an hour. When we reach the baggage belt at Schiphol, the luggage has already come out. Unfortunately, ours is not among it. At the KLM desk it becomes clear that the luggage is still in Paris. It will probably be delivered to our home on Monday. I travel home without my bags.